Cutting down on sugar-sweetened soft drinks was associated with a drop in blood pressure, researchers found.

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Explain to interested patients that this study suggests that cutting down on sugary soft drinks may reduce blood pressure.

Cutting down on sugar-sweetened soft drinks was associated with a drop in blood pressure, researchers found.

In a cohort of U.S. adults, those who reduced daily intake of the beverages saw a significant (at P<0.0001) drop in both systolic and diastolic pressure over an 18-month period, according to Liwei Chen, MD, PhD, of Louisiana State University Health Science Center in New Orleans, and colleagues.

On the other hand, there was no association between blood pressure and diet beverages or caffeine intake, Chen and colleagues wrote in the June 8 issue of Circulation.

On average, American adults consume 28 fluid ounces a day of sugar-sweetened beverages, or some 2.3 servings, Chen and colleagues noted. But whether long-term consumption of such beverages affects blood pressure has not been investigated.

To help clarify the issue, the researchers analyzed the diets and blood pressure of 810 adults who took part in the PREMIER trial, a prospective randomized study of dietary behavioral interventions.

As part of the trial, participants' blood pressure was measured at baseline and at three, six, 12, and 18 months. They were also questioned about their dietary intake -- including soft drinks -- at baseline, six months, and 18 months.

At baseline, the average participant had a blood pressure of 134.9/84.8 millimeters of mercury and consumed 10.5 fluid ounces of sugar-sweetened beverages and 11.2 fluid ounces of diet drinks a day.

Not unexpectedly, those who consumed the most sugar-sweetened drinks weighed more and had a higher body mass index and waist circumference. (All the trends were significant at P<0.0001.)

Over the course of the study, the average participant cut down on sugar-sweetened drinks by 6.0 fluid ounces a day at six months and 2.8 fluid ounces at 18 months. At the same time, consumption of diet beverages was reduced by 2.3 fluid ounces a day at six months but increased by 1.5 fluid ounces a day at 18 months.

On average, systolic blood pressure fell by a mean of 9.8 millimeters of mercury at six months and 8.2 at 18 months, compared with the baseline values. For diastolic blood pressure, the corresponding declines were 5.4 and 5.6 millimeters of mercury, respectively.

In an analysis adjusted for a range of variables, including sex, race, family history of hypertension, baseline age, and body mass index, a daily one-serving reduction in sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with a reduction in systolic pressure of 1.8 millimeters of mercury at the end of the study.

Correspondingly, there was a 1.1-millimeter reduction in diastolic pressure. Both changes were significant at P<0.0001.

Adding weight into the model attenuated the reduction -- to 0.7 millimeters of mercury for systolic pressure and 0.4 millimeters for diastolic -- but the declines remained significant at P=0.01 and P=0.04, respectively.

The researchers cautioned that, while the original study was prospective and randomized, this analysis was observational and cannot be used to infer a causal connection. Randomized controlled trials are needed, they said.

On the other hand, they argued, if the observation were to be confirmed, it would have important public health implications, since it has been estimated that a three-millimeter reduction in systolic blood pressure should reduce stroke mortality by 8% and coronary heart disease mortality by 5%.

Reductions on that scale could be anticipated if the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks were reduced by two servings a day, they concluded.

The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Louisiana State University Health Science Center, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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